Pool of Life: The Story of Liverpool in Caricatures

In this unique book, John Minnion charts the history and heartbeat of Liverpool through 150 diverse life-stories and specially drawn caricatures.

The story of Liverpool has been crafted by its personalities: individuals who did brilliant things - innovators, philanthropists and social reformers; poets, musicians and football stars.

From King John - Liverpool's first scally - to the Beatles, who put a declining Liverpool back on the world map, and people like Phil Redmond, Jimmy McGovern and Steve Gerrard today, it has been individual characters who have moved the Liverpool story onward.

By cincentrating on the lives and work of these people, and capturing them in engaging caricatures, John Minnion makes the history of the city itself easy to follow, easy to enjoy, without shying away from any of the contradictions and controversies that lie at the city's heart.

No city that plunged in just 80 years from being second city of the British Empire to the scrap heap of the 1980s recession can ever feel complacent, even when it has been awarded Capital of Culture status. But, in an age of increasing uniformity, Liverpool stands out today, still the vibrant, charismatic place it has always been: still the Pool of Life.